Region's Fires Kill One, Force Evacuations

Harvey BranniganThe Cape Horn fire burning in steep terrain on July 5 near the Lake Pend Oreille shoreline community of Bayview.

A number of wildfires kept emergency responders throughout Idaho busy over the holiday period.

A blaze in northern Idaho has burned more than 2,000 acres and destroyed six homes in the Cape Horn area of Lake Pend Oreille. Residents in the Cape Horn as well as Bayview have been ordered to evacuate.

Officials say extremely dry conditions and wind are fanning the flames near the southern end of Lake Pend Oreille. The Red Cross has set up temporary shelter at Timberlake High School in Spirit Lake.

In eastern Oregon, a 14-year-old boy was killed in a house fire outside the Malheur County town of Adrian. The victims' parents were also seriously burned and transported, via air ambulance, to Boise and then to a burn treatment center in Salt Lake City.

Meanwhile, firefighters responded to a grass fire near Lucky Peak Reservoir on July 5. The blaze burned nearly five acres along Idaho Highway 21, about a mile north of the Lucky Peak Dam.

Finally, the eastern Idaho community of Montpelier had a bit of a scare during its Fourth of July celebration when a 3-inch mortar misfired, spreading sparks into a staging area and accidentally igniting more fireworks. The Montpelier Fire Department was already on the scene and firefighters from Bear Lake County were called to assist in fighting a small fire, which was contained to the immediate area.